My DisplayLink device does not work on Ubuntu

This article covers the common problems found when trying to install the DisplayLink Ubuntu driver.

Make sure your Ubuntu distribution is up to date

The minimum supported Linux Kernel version is 3.16 and the minimum supported Xorg version is 1.16. If your Ubuntu versions of these components are lower, than these, you will probably experience blank or corrupted DisplayLink screens. Update your Ubuntu image by running:

sudo apt-get update

and then

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

from a Terminal. If the distribution is not up to date, you may find issues with blank or corrupted USB displays.

Check that the DisplayLink device is recognised on the USB bus

Use lsusb from a terminal window to check that a DisplayLink device is on the USB bus. All DisplayLink devices have a vendor ID of 17e9, so can be checked with the command:

lsusb -d 17e9:

You should see devices listed as shown below:

If no DisplayLink devices are listed, try the steps below:

Unplug all cables from the device, then reconnect power (if needed) then the USB cable.

Check the USB port with another device to make sure other devices are recognised.

Check that the USB cable works with other devices.

If using a USB bus powered device, make sure that the device is connected to an externally powered USB hub (the hub has a USB cable and a power supply connected to it). This will ensure that the device an receive enough power from the USB bus.

Try the adapter on another computer.

If it still does not appear in device manager then you should contact the original manufacturer, not DisplayLink, to discuss a hardware replacement of the product.